MERS 'suspects' face fines if they don't cooperate

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MERS
'Suspects' face fines if they don't cooperate
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- PEOPLE SUSPECTED of contracting Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) who refuse to be quarantined face fines of up to Bt2,000, Department of Disease Control (DDC) chief Dr Sopon Mekthon warned yesterday.

In future measures to be imposed soon, people who live in areas where MERS has been reported who have been told by local health authorities to clean or sanitise their homes will be fined Bt2,000 if they fail to comply, he said.

This condition was similar, he said, to chicken farmers being ordered to cull chicken in the event of avian flu outbreaks.

He said hospitals were also required to strictly follow hygiene protocols during their treatment of MERS patients or when they transfer them. All transports must be done using sealed ambulances and hospitals that use public transport would be subject to penalties by the ministry, he added.

Deputy Public Health Minister Dr Somsak Chunharas said MERS patients would be subsidised for treatment cost during a 14-day quarantine conducted at private hospitals, or they would be transferred to government hospitals, which would charge much lower rates.

People who can afford to pay are welcome to pay," he said.

Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan said he had instructed all military and police hospitals and medical institutes to help out with the ministry's management of the MERS situation.

In Chaiyaphum, a young mother and her four-year-old child will be quarantined for another three days to make sure they are not sick with MERS after the end of the 14-day incubation period, Dr Somkhuan Harnphatthanachai, chief of the provincial public health office, said.

In yesterday's briefing update, officials said four people on inbound flights were found to have a fever - out of 29,345 passengers checked at Thai airports. The four patients were not from countries at risk of MERS or Ebola. Airlines that service 37 flights from such countries at risk were reminded of measures and given advice on risk management.

An Omani man, the sole confirmed case in Thailand, is recovering and able to eat. Three relatives were found not to have the disease. Worldwide, there has been 1,338 confirmed cases of MERS with 475 deaths, including 175 cases and 27 deaths in South Korea.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Suspects-face-fines-if-they-dont-cooperate-30263054.html


-- The Nation 2015-06-25

[doremifasol]

As the word suggests, "quarantine" means 40 days (of isolation).

I am just curious....... when 40 became 14?

[Traveling Sailor]

And what about the local "doctors" who treat people every day for colds and fever and are not asking all the questions necessary to insure that the patient does not have MERS??

[NeilSA1]

So, rather than spend 14 days in hospital, and perhaps having to contribute financially, one can refuse and merely "face fines of up to Bt2,000"

I can imagine what option most people will choose. Surely there should be chance of an option - it should be compulsory if necessary.

[Lopchan]

I went to an outpost clinic of Maharat N. Ratchasima hospital yesterday. Severe flu symptoms. Joked with the doctor there that maybe I had MERS. His response was "No, not in Khorat, you just have a bad flu" As I waited for my meds, I couldn't help but notice all the posters on the walls warning people to be vigilant about MERS. He obviously hadn't read them as he hadn't asked this foreigner if I'd been out of the country to a "hotspot" or not.

It got worse...on returning home, I learned that there was at least one suspected case in Chaiyapum...only 90 km away.

So much for his "not in Khorat" statement.

[Jonmarleesco]

'This condition was similar, he said, to chicken farmers being ordered to cull chicken in the event of avian flu outbreaks.' And we all know how successful that was.

[Ulic]

As the word suggests, "quarantine" means 40 days (of isolation).

I am just curious....... when 40 became 14?

QUARANTINE a period of time during which an animal or person that might have a disease is kept

away from other people or animals so that the disease cannot spread:

As the incubation period is 14 days there is no reason to quarantine someone

for 40 days.

In relation to the expense, 30-40 k a day in a private hospital and you are

expected to pay the bills. I 'll take the 2k fine and stay at home. If I am sick

I will come in for help. A half million baht hospital charge should be covered

by the TAT or Public Health. You can't really expect a tourist to pay this

on the off chance he/she has caught MERS on a flight. This will not go over

well if news gets out in the travel section of western newspapers. We are

going to quarantine you for two weeks as a precaution, and here is you

500k bill, oh and there is no refund on your vacation package either.

Edited June 25, 2015 by Ulic

[ukrules]

So I wonder if the airline or the ill passenger is liable for costs incurred on third parties due to no fault of their own ?

I know I wouldn't be very pleased if the whole plane was quarantined just because some idiot on the check in desk allowed someone ill to check in to a flight.

I wonder if the guy from Oman was coming to Bangkok for medical treatment related to his condition ?